9. Kinsley
KINSLEY
Day two of the shit show at Monarch.
I debate on whether to be an intentional bitch and take Edge’s parking spot again, but I decide not to ask for trouble and find a spot far away from the one Edge has claimed.
“Going to give us another striptease this afternoon?” some random guy asks as he walks by me.
Is that douche talking about me shredding our dreadful uniform yesterday after school?
Ignoring him, I continue onward toward my first class.
Just inside the main building stand a few guys and a couple of girls I may or may not recognize.
This early in the game, everyone looks the same, with only a few who stand out. I won’t mention names.
“Maybe today you can take it all off,” one guy says. The rest of his friends laugh and agree with crude gestures.
I flash them the finger along with a bored expression as I pass their little group. Fuck them. Maybe I will.
Not a minute passes before I’m confronted again.
“Good morning, sunshine.” Bryce’s arm wraps around my shoulder.
I let out a small chuckle. “Are you always this happy first thing in the morning? I need to know before I get in too deep.”
He looks up to the ceiling as if contemplating an answer as he guides us effortlessly through the crowded hall. “Yeah, you could say that. I’m just naturally an uppity kind of guy.”
“Uppity? Is that like your grandma’s pet name for you?”
He stops mid-step and turns me with his hands on my shoulders so I’m looking directly at him. “That’s not funny. She’s dead.”
“I’m—”
“Kidding!” He loops his arm through mine and guides us forward. “She calls me Bunny.”
I wince. “I don’t want to know.”
Each time I’m in the presence of Bryce, I feel like I’ve stepped off the planet Earth and into a different realm where things are happy and everything is right in the world.
He jerks my body against him as his excitement grows. “You should come with me next time I visit her. My grandma would love you. She doesn’t take any shit from anyone. Just like you. You guys are like twins.”
“Twins, huh?”
“Identical. Boobs and all!”
“What?” I look down at my chest.
“Kidding, kidding!” He looks at my chest. “No, you’re right, not identical. Seriously, though, you’re fraternal—at least in your badassery.”
I shake my head, unable to stop the urge to laugh.
“Listen! I swear, one time when I was shopping with her, she rammed her shopping cart into the back of a guy in the wine aisle because he was yelling at the store clerk for not having his Merlot in stock. Then she proceeded to tell him to go suck a cork and find his damn manners.”
Bryce makes it easy to let go of the tension I’ve held on to lately.
The smile on my face feels familiar and natural, like an old friend who decided to visit.
I’ve unintentionally erected a wall so thick I forget to enjoy moments like these—not that there have been that many in the past few months.
But right now, here with Bryce, it gives me hope that I haven’t lost myself completely.
“Something funny?”
Bryce jerks us to a stop. Damn, that voice! Damn him. Three of the four Vipers, Levi, Kade, and Edge, stand side by side. Their muscled bodies create a barricade across the hallway. Gunner, the missing link, I’m guessing, isn’t too far behind.
“Most definitely funny.” I force my next laugh, emphasizing the hilarity of the story. “We would share, but it’s a private joke.” I lightly slap Bryce’s arm. “Right, Bryce?”
“Yeah… private,” he mutters in a slightly shaky voice.
I wish I could wipe the intimidation off his face.
He went from carefree to frozen all in one go.
I need to get the poor guy out of here before he shits himself.
In the short time I’ve known Bryce, which includes two morning run-ins and one lunch, I’ve learned that he enjoys drama but dislikes being at the center of it.
If the Vipers are in the mix, drama is inevitable.
It’s my turn to loop my arm through Bryce’s. “Bye, boys, we’re off to see the wizard.”
I barrel between Levi and Kade. Throughout the entire exchange, I purposely avoided Edge’s face and those dangerous eyes.
Getting trapped by those stormy depths is like sliding through wormholes only to find you landed in a place where you lost all control over your own body and common sense.
I was caught off guard yesterday. Today, I know better.
His beautiful face, even with his well-practiced glare, haunted me until I finally fell asleep last night.
Bryce wipes his forehead with the back of his hand. “How the hell can they induce a sweat attack on command?”
“Come on, Bunny, forget about them.” I tug him along, not knowing if his class is in the same direction as mine.
“Will I see you at lunch?” he asks.
“I’ll be there.”
He unhooks his arm as I push through the large doors leading to the courtyard. “Don’t be a coward like me.” He wiggles his fingers in a goodbye gesture.
Art is another day of disaster. I have no idea where the hell to begin with my project. I’m almost positive the art professor agrees that I’m a total failure after she tries to help me. There’s finally a sliver of peace when Brielle leaves halfway through class and thankfully doesn’t return.
“Just so you know, I gave you a ten out of ten for your performance after school yesterday,” a familiar flirty voice says.
I look over to see Gunner. His leg is propped up on the stool Brielle vacated.
He offers me a cheesy wink while twirling his paintbrush through his fingers.
The act wouldn’t be complete without his signature grin perfectly in place.
I’m not sure if he looks hot or if his flirtatious side has gone a step too far.
With his loosely knotted tie and his cuffs rolled to reveal tan forearms, I lean toward the hot side.
The cool of his blue eyes grabs my deeper ones.
“Is that going to be a daily occurrence? If it is, just hold off long enough until I get there, okay? We can make some sort of signal to let the other know we’re ready.”
There’s only a grin showing his excitement. He’s got to be joking . Right?
I shake my head, not believing this conversation is happening.
“Jeez, what is it with you guys? I was just getting comfortable, for fuck’s sake.
Wearing these stuffy clothes all day, I feel like every cell in my body is being choked out.
” I scoff. “Besides, if you think that’s stripping, then you obviously haven’t seen anyone do it right. ”
He drops his leg to the floor and then leans in my direction. “Ninja baby, I’m available anytime for you to show me your expertise on the subject.”
Fuck me. I need to keep my mouth shut. Closing my eyes, I do my best to ignore him for the few minutes left of class.
“What? You don’t give private lessons?”
Ignoring him is useless. He’s like a persistent child tugging on your pant leg, begging for just one more piece of candy.
I turn to face him. “Gunner, please shut up.”
Shifting back to his canvas, he holds up his hands in defeat. “Fine, I was trying to be friends. But if you don’t want to be, fine!”
There’s obviously something in the water in this fucked-up, delusional school.
Friends? Is he fucking kidding me? Every conversation I have, it feels like I stepped off a cliff and am dangling in mid-air, just waiting to see what I fall into next.
Fuck, maybe I need to start drinking the damn water.
The word happiness doesn’t even begin to cover the relief I feel when class ends.
Hesitating just outside the door, I glance left and right before recognizing the way to biology.
I leave the art building, cross the courtyard, and head into the math and science building.
Finding the room for biology proves to be more challenging than the classwork itself.
Yesterday, I found the room without a hitch.
When I turn down a familiar hall, another row of doors confronts me.
Guessing, I open the heavy door with the sign Biology .
It only takes a few seconds to realize I haven’t mastered the art of navigating Monarch University, especially when I hear moans from within the dark room.
Curiosity wins over my logic, which screams at me to get the hell out of there.
Instead, I let the door close behind me and blink several times, willing my eyes to adjust to the dimly lit room.
Why the hell didn’t I listen to my freaking gut?
The sliver of light from the window creates a line of light down Brielle’s bare ass.
She’s bent over the desk while Edge stands behind her.
His hand rests on her lower back as he pounds his toned body into hers.
I should turn around and leave, but my stunned sense of all sanity has my feet anchored to the floor.
Why the fuck am I not disgusted—or even moving in the opposite direction?
But I’m too late when Edge's eyes lock on mine.
I let those precious few seconds slip by as streaks of heat race down my spine, straight to the center of my core.
The corner of Edge’s mouth lifts in a sinful, knowing smirk. By the look on his beautiful face, he likes that he’s been caught—caught by me.
“I think she wants to watch,” he whispers into the near darkness. I know his words are meant for me alone. Slowing his pace, he moves his hips forward and back in a hypnotic wave of desire, his eyes never leaving mine.
My body is electrified with the building sensations of where he’s taking them as he continues to slide into her wetness, intentionally deepening his penetrating thrusts until she calls out in need of more.
As much as I hate the girl beneath him, her cries of pleasure only add to the moment’s eroticism and the wetness pooling between my legs.